Bail for capital offenders 'causing problems' – Museveni

President Yoweri Museveni has asked judges to respect the constitutional rights of Ugandans. The President was speaking at State House Entebbe where he presided over the swearing-in ceremony of 18 newly-appointed judges of the High Court as well as the new head of the Commercial Court and the head of the High Court, The Monitor reports. Museveni said there should be full accountability for all offenders, especially the capital offenders, if the judicial system in the country was to serve its purpose and be of use to the people. ‘The rights of our people are supreme and can never be compromised and full accountability must be there, especially the capital offenders,’ Museveni said. ‘The concept of bail for capital offenders was causing us problems because the security forces and the population were getting agitated as courts were releasing well known and seasoned capital offenders’. The President said because of some actions of the judicial officers, some members of the public had started taking the law in their hands through mob action. He said sometimes the security forces were forced to re-arrest known capital offenders that have been granted bail, which portrays Uganda as a country that does not respect the rule of law.

Full report in The Monitor